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Electricians in VictoriaHire a REC, search the register, keep the COES.

In Victoria you hire a Registered Electrical Contractor (REC), and the REC sends a licensed electrician to do the job. Energy Safe Victoria registers both, and its public registers are free to search. When the work's finished you should get a Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES).

RECs and licensed electricians: who does what

Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) is the regulator. A business can't offer or carry out electrical contracting unless it's registered as an electrical contractor, and whoever is on the tools needs the right ESV licence. The full one is the Electrician's licence (A Grade).

A REC must hold public liability insurance of at least $5 million and answers for all the work it takes on. Its REC number has to appear on its ads, and leaving it off is an offence.

Checking a REC and an electrician in Victoria

  1. Search the REC Register

    Take the REC number from their ad, website or quote and look it up on ESV's Registered Electrical Contractor Register, or the same listing on DataVic.

  2. Look up the person too

    The Licensed Electrical Worker Search covers individual electricians. Each ESV search asks for a CAPTCHA first.

  3. Ask to see the card

    Licensed electricians and RECs carry an ESV identification card, and ESV says to always ask to see it.

Prescribed or not: how your COES arrives

Prescribed (major) workNon-prescribed (minor) work
ExamplesConsumer mains, solar, battery storageLights, power points, hot water
Your COES arrivesWithin 4 business days of the inspector's certificateWithin one month of the certificate of compliance
Copies go toYou, the distribution business and ESVYou and ESV

What else to know about the COES

Prescribed work must be inspected by a licensed electrical inspector within 8 business days, and it can't be switched on until it has been. A contractor can't hold back your COES for any reason, payment disputes included, and owners can ask ESV to search for a certificate for free.

Rentals: the 2-yearly check now covers every lease

From 13 October 2026, every Victorian rental needs an electrical safety check by a licensed or registered electrician every 2 years, done to section 4 of AS/NZS 3019. Before signing, renters must be told the date of the last check and anything still outstanding from it. Rentals have also needed a modern switchboard with circuit breakers and safety switches since 29 March 2023. Rental electrical safety checks covers what's involved.

Smoke alarms in Victorian homes

Since 1 August 1997, all Victorian homes have needed smoke alarms meeting AS 3786. Homes built before then need only standalone battery alarms, while newer ones need 240-volt mains alarms with a backup battery. Homes built or largely renovated after 1 May 2014 that need more than one must have them interconnected. Fire Rescue Victoria says to have at least one per level and replace them every ten years. More on smoke alarm laws in Victoria.

Fallen powerline? Keep 8 to 10 metres away

Energy Safe Victoria says to stay more than 8 to 10 metres from a fallen powerline and report it to your distributor and the police. If anyone's life is in danger, call 000.

Five networks share Victoria

CitiPower: 13 12 80

Melbourne's CBD and inner suburbs.

Jemena: 131 626

North-west Melbourne, 24 hours a day.

United Energy: 13 20 99

The south-eastern suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula.

AusNet Services: 13 17 99

Melbourne's north and east, and eastern Victoria.

Powercor: 13 24 12

The western suburbs and western and regional Victoria. Here and on CitiPower, only a REC can apply for a supply change like going to three phase.

If it were our house in Victoria

Search the REC and the electrician on ESV's registers before the first visit, and ask up front whether your job is prescribed work, so you know an inspector is coming and when the COES is due. If you rent a place out, book the 2-yearly check on your own timetable rather than waiting for a new lease to force it.

Want a specialist to sort it?

Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.

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Cities in Victoria

Electricians in MelbourneMelbourne's five networks, its housing eras and the Victorian rules that shape electrical jobs here.Electricians in GeelongOld boards in the north, new estates in the south, Powercor's fault line and Geelong's big wind events.Electricians in BendigoMiners' cottages, heritage permits, Bendigo's hail and tornado history, and who to ring when the power goes.Electricians in BallaratElectric heating on old boards, low voltage at peak, heritage overlays and Ballarat's wind.Electricians in WarragulNewer homes, AusNet's solar backstop rule, planned outages and the 13 17 99 fault line.Electricians in SheppartonAfter a flood, before summer, and in post-war homes: electrical work in Shepparton and Mooroopna.Electricians in WodongaVictorian rules on the Wodonga side, new estates in Leneva-Baranduda, rental checks and AusNet's fault line.Electricians in EchucaAfter the river, in the port precinct and across the border: electrical work in Echuca.Electricians in WarrnamboolAfter the wind, around the trees and at the service line: electrical work in Warrnambool.Electricians in MilduraSurge repairs, air conditioning in record heat, rentals and Powercor's fault line in Mildura.Electricians in TraralgonOld boards in post-war homes, the June 2021 flood, and AusNet's fault and life support lines.Electricians in BairnsdaleLong outages, generators, Mitchell River floods and AusNet's lines for Bairnsdale homes.Electricians in WangarattaPost-war homes, four flood-prone waterways and AusNet's bushfire equipment in Wangaratta.Electricians in SaleFloods, rentals and old buildings: electrical work in Sale, and who to ring when the power goes.Electricians in CastlemaineGold-era houses, heritage checks, storms and bushfire, and Powercor's fault line in Castlemaine.Electricians in HorshamHeatwave loads, Wimmera floods, trees near lines and Powercor's fault line in Horsham.

Related help

Helpful next

Electricians in MelbourneMelbourne's five networks, its housing eras and the Victorian rules that shape electrical jobs here.Smoke alarm laws in VictoriaVictoria's 1997 and 2014 build-date rules, the yearly rental alarm check, and who's allowed to fit what.Rental electrical safety checksVictoria's 2-yearly rental electrical check, the record to keep, and landlord duties elsewhere.How to check an electrician's licenceEvery state's licence register, which number to ask for, and the red flags before work starts.Electrical compliance certificatesEvery state's electrical certificate: its name, who issues it, the deadline, and what to do if it's missing.Electrical rules for landlordsWhat landlords must do in each state: electrical checks, smoke alarms, safety switches and repairs.

Where this information comes from

Rules change, so check with your state regulator if something matters to your job. How we write and check these pages.

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